


A Rainy Autumn Evening

by SpaceIdiot



Category: Endeavour (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Gen, warm and cozy things, with a tiny bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 14:36:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21321799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceIdiot/pseuds/SpaceIdiot
Summary: Bright gets caught in the rain, and Thursday comes to the rescue.
Relationships: Reginald Bright & Fred Thursday
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	A Rainy Autumn Evening

Bright rarely admitted his affinity for late night walks in the park. Bright rarely admitted his affinity for anything. It made him appear far too human. He laughed to himself, thinking of how he still tried to hold on to that last little bit of dignity, despite the fact that nearly all of his closest friends at the station had seen him passed out on the floor in his office, nearly dead in the hospital, half drunk at least once, and crying over his wife - not to mention that dreaded pelican campaign. He put his hands into his pockets, humming slightly. Oh what was that tune? Something he’d learned in India, he thought. India… sometimes he wished he’d never left. He wondered what it would have been like, staying there. He shook his head. No use thinking about that.  
His feet lead him through a wooded patch in the park. He stopped, looking up. The moon shone through the red and yellow leaves, casting a mottled light on the path. He smiled, took out a cigarette, and began to smoke. It warmed him, but only for a moment, as he felt a cold drop of rain hit the back of his neck.  
“Damn,” he hissed, realizing he’d left his umbrella in his car. He supposed he’d have to turn back now. He did, as the rain began to fall steadily. He turned his collar up, but he was soaked in a moment. His short legs took him as quickly as possible down the path, but he’d been walking nearly an hour, and he knew it would be quite a bit until he reached his car. He imagined a cup of hot tea, maybe a warm bath, once he reached him. The thought kept him moving quickly.  
“Sir!” a voice called out.  
He stopped suddenly, whirling around to find the source of the voice.  
“Thursday!” he gasped, seeing the big man walking towards him, an umbrella over his head.  
“Good lord, Sir,” Thursday said, reaching out and holding the umbrella out for them both. “What are you doing here at this time of night?”  
“I suppose I could ask you the same thing,” Bright said, appreciating the shelter.  
Thursday hesitated. “Clearing my head,” he said. “I just needed a moment to think about things, out in the open.”  
Bright looked Thursday up and down. His shoes were covered in mud, his trousers splattered, and the tips of his jacket wet from the rain. He wondered what had kept him out, even in the rain.  
“I suppose,” he said, “I’m doing something similar.”  
Thursday nodded. “We’ve got to get you out of this rain,” he said. “You’ll catch your death soaked like that.”  
“My car’s still a ways off,” Bright said.  
“That’s alright,” Thursday shrugged. “My car’s just over there,” he pointed through a little patch of woods. Bright happened to know there were no parking places through that patch of woods.  
“I can’t ask you to take your time to drive me back to my car,” he said.  
“That’s not what I’m offering,” Thursday said.  
Bright furrowed his brows. “Then what-”  
“I’m going to drive you to my place,” he said. “It’s just a few minutes drive. I’m not about to let you go home to an empty place on a night like this.”  
Bright looked surprised. “Thursday, I appreciate the sentiment but-”  
“No but’s,” Thursday said. “You’re coming with me and that’s that.”  
Bright did not protest. They walked in mostly silence until they reached Thursday’s car. Like the bigger man had said, the drive to his home was only a few minutes. Once there, Thursday bade Bright inside.  
“Hang up your jacket there,” he said, pointing to a peg on the wall. “And take off your shoes.”  
Bright did. His tan suit and green vest were soaked through, his hair dripping and falling in his eyes. He looked rather pitiful, shivering, with his arms wrapped tightly around himself, creating a puddle on the floor.  
“Well off with those things,” he said, directing Thursday into the sitting room where the electric heater was creating a circle of warmth a few feet around it.  
Bright blinked. “I beg your pardon?” he said, eyeing Thursday.  
“You’re going to soak my carpet like that,” he said. “Win will have my hide.”  
“Yes but-”  
Thursday held up his hand. “I’ll get you something to change into.”  
He was out of the room in a moment. Bright shivered, brushing his hair back. This was… not how he had expected to spend his night. In a moment, Thursday was back with a dressing gown and what looked like a pair of pajamas folded up under a sweater.  
“My clothes would hang off you,” he said. “So I grabbed something of my boys. He’s not left much here. This was all I could find.”  
Bright swallowed. He was not sure quite how much he liked being compared to a boy’s size, but there wasn’t much he could do about it.  
“Thank you,” he said, taking the clothes. “Where should I change?”  
“Best do it here,” Thursday said. “You’ll half freeze if you try it in the lu.”  
Bright stared at Thursday. He didn’t expect him to do it with him standing there, did he?  
“Oh!” Thursday said, suddenly blinking at the floor. “I’ll go get us some tea.”  
“What should I do with my wet clothes?” Bright asked.  
“Just hang them over there.” Thursday pointed to a drying rack in the hall.  
Bright nodded. He waited until Thursday had made his way to the kitchen before he sat the dry clothes down and began to strip off his wet clothes. They clung to him, cold and sticky. First his jacket and sweater vest, then his trousers, then his shirt. He hesitated before he slipped off his undershirt, leaving his undershorts on. They may be damp, but he was not about to strip completely naked in Thursday’s living room. He ducked out into the hall and quickly hung them up, not particularly excited to be seen by Thursday, half naked, if the other man had decided to look up from the teakettle in the kitchen. He moved back into the warm circle of the electric heater, and slipped on the clothes Thursday had provided. The pants were too long, but everything fit his girth rather well. He pulled on the sweater over the undershirt, and then the dressing gown over the rest of it. He stood directly in front of the heater, thawing out his cold feet. He closed his eyes. For a moment, he felt completely comfortable. His guard was raised, though, when Thursday rapped on the sitting room archway.  
“Are you decent?” he asked, staring at the floor.  
“Oh, er, yes,” Bright said, suddenly pulling the dressing gown tighter around him.  
Thursday came in with a tray of tea, two mugs, and a plate of cookies.  
“You really didn’t have to go to all this trouble,” he said. “I could have just gone home.”  
“Don’t be ridiculous. You deserve someone to take care of you now and then.”  
Bright flushed, looking at the floor.  
“Come on then,” Thursday said. “Sit down and get something to eat.”  
Bright did as instructed. He poured himself a cup of tea and took a shortbread cookie.  
“Where is Mrs. Thursday tonight?” he asked after he’d taken a sip of the tea. He felt warm his insides, and smiled.  
“She’s off with her sister this weekend,” Thursday said.  
“Oh, I see,” Bright said. He swallowed, not quite sure what to say next.  
“There’s a late night show I watch now and then,” Thursday said. “Any interest?”  
“Why not,” Bright smiled. “I suppose it will take some time for my clothes to dry.”  
“In this weather I doubt they’ll be dry till morning,” Thursday said. “We’ve got two extra beds. You should stay here.”  
“Oh, I really couldn’t ask you to do that.”  
“You’re not asking. I’m offering.”  
Bright hesitated. “Well, I suppose then, I’ll stay.”  
Thursday smiled. He stood and turned on the TV. They watched together, eating cookies and drinking tea, until the program ended. They were both drowsy by then, and Thursday showed Bright to a room. He settled in under the covers, his toes warm and his heart full. He slept better that night than he had in a very long time.  
When morning came, the rain still fell heavily. He laid in bed a moment, eyes closed, listening to it pound against the window. After a moment, he got up, slipped the sweater over his pajamas, and went downstairs.  
“Your clothes will be dry by now, Sir,” Thursday smiled from the kitchen where he appeared to me making sandwiches.  
“Yes, thank you,” Bright smiled, taking the clothes off the rack. “May I ask where the lu is?” He said, flushing slightly.  
“Through there,” Thursday smiled.  
Bright ducked in, washed his face, dressed, and brushed back his unruly hair. It always went curly when it got wet.  
“Anything I can help do?” He asked when he’d returned to the hall.  
“I’ve got tea made,” Thursday said. “I’m afraid we’ve not got much more for breakfast than cereal.”  
“Oh that’s quite alright, I’m happy with tea.”  
“Help yourself then.”  
Bright did. He sipped it quietly as Thursday wrapped two sandwiches in brown paper. He held one out.  
“On for you, Sir, since you’ll not have much time when I get you back to your car.  
Bright opened his mouth to protest.  
“Really Sir,” Thursday interjected before Bright could say anything. “You ought to let people do things for you without telling them they don’t have to. We know we don’t have to, we want to.”  
Bright blinked. “Thank you, Thursday,” was all he could say. His eyes went a bit blurry, and the back of his throat burned slightly. He blinked again.  
After breakfast, Thursday drove Bright back to his car. Bright went home, changed into his uniform, and had just enough time to feed his cats before rushing to work. He caught Thursday’s eye a few times throughout the day, but neither said anything. Bright felt, though, that a Thursday smiled a bit more at him than he had before.


End file.
